Content
Panicle Hydrangea Summer Love is a perennial shrub with beautiful flowers and an interesting name that can be translated as "summer love". Feature - numerous, lush inflorescences in the form of large panicles, which, with proper care, are formed in large quantities. Due to the high winter hardiness of the plant, it can be used for planting both in Central Russia and in regions with a more severe climate - the Urals, Siberia and the Far East.
Description of Summer Love hydrangea
Hydrangea paniculata Hydrangea Paniculata Summer Love is really one of the most beautiful varieties. It is a graceful, compact bush that grows on average up to 80-100 cm, less often up to 1 m.
The root system is superficial: the tissues quickly absorb water and nutrients, due to which the bush grows very actively. Therefore, it can bloom in the first year after planting. Numerous white and light pink flowers combine to form lush panicles that appear in large numbers from mid to late summer. The length of the inflorescence is up to 30-35 cm, they are spherical and conical in shape.
The crown of the Summer Love hydrangea is spherical, the branches are strong, grows quite densely, the foliage is dark green. At the same time, the leaves are oval, their tips are pointed, but during flowering they are practically invisible. The small height of the bush makes it possible to classify the Summer Love hydrangea as a low-growing species. However, there is evidence that in favorable climatic conditions the shrub can grow into a small tree up to 2 m high.
Summer Love hydrangea inflorescences literally dot the bush, which is guaranteed to draw attention to it.
Hydrangea paniculata Summer Love in landscape design
Summer Love is a completely self-sufficient flower that can be successfully used in single plantings. However, this beautiful hydrangea also looks good in compositions with other flowers, as well as shrubs and perennial grasses. You can use it in landscape design in different ways:
- Single plantings in the garden.
- Single landings on the lawn next to the house.
- Planting Summer Love hydrangeas along the paths.
- A live row of several hydrangea bushes.
- Planting in flowerpots on the site.
Summer Love also looks good in mixborders and hedges. In the latter case, the bushes are planted as close to each other as possible at a distance of 70-80 cm.
Winter hardiness of Summer Love hydrangea
There is evidence that the Summer Love panicle hydrangea can withstand even extreme frosts down to -35 degrees. Her young shoots in such conditions are likely to be damaged. But in general, the bush is successfully recovering after the winter cold and continues to bloom actively.
Therefore, such a hydrangea can be grown in almost any region of Russia:
- middle band;
- Northwest;
- South;
- Ural;
- Southern Siberia;
- Far East.
If extremely cold winters are regularly observed in the region, and the temperature can drop below -30 degrees for several days, the bushes should be covered, and their roots should be mulched.
Planting and caring for Summer Love hydrangea
Caring for a flower is not so difficult, but to ensure constant and lush flowering, hydrangeas need to be regularly watered, fed and periodically pruned. Another important point is the choice of a landing site.
Selection and preparation of the landing site
Almost all types of hydrangeas need a lot of sunlight, so they are usually planted in open areas. Summer Love is no exception, but she does well in a little partial shade (especially in the southern regions).
When choosing a place, you should pay attention to several features:
- the place, if possible, should be protected from strong winds and drafts;
- the soil is quite fertile with a moderately acidic reaction (optimal if pH = 5.0);
- it is better to place shrubs on higher elevations, where less precipitation accumulates;
- if groundwater is close to the soil, you will need to first lay drainage from small stones.
Before planting, the site should be well dug up, since the hydrangea prefers loosened soil. If the soil is not fertile, additional fertilizing is necessary.
Landing rules
The optimal planting time is considered the beginning of October (for the southern regions) or April (for all others). Before planting, it is necessary to prepare a layer of fertile soil, which will subsequently be covered with a seedling. According to the experience of gardeners, the following composition is considered optimal:
- leaf land (2 parts);
- peat (1 part);
- sand (1 part);
- humus (2 parts).
The landing technology is as follows:
- First, you need to dig a hole of the same depth and diameter - 30 cm each.
- In the case of planting several seedlings of Summer Love hydrangea, a minimum interval of 1 m should be observed.
- The plant is placed in the center and covered with earth so that the root collar is slightly visible.
- Then poured abundantly with water (5-10 liters).
Immediately planting hydrangeas, it is advisable to loosen the soil well so that as much air as possible flows to the roots
Watering and feeding
It is from the subsequent care of the seedling that the flowering of the hydrangea depends. The rules for watering and feeding are simple, but they must be observed constantly, and not from time to time:
- Hydrangea Summer Love, like many other species of this shrub, is very fond of. Therefore, normally (in the absence of precipitation), it should be watered at least once a week (1 bucket of water for a young bush, 2-3 for an adult).
- If the weather is too hot, watering is increased up to 2 times a week. To keep the soil moist, it is better to mulch it with needles or sawdust.
- They are fed 3-4 times per season. In April, you can give a complex or nitrogen fertilizer. In June, July (the period of bud formation and the first flowering) - potassium and phosphorus. A similar composition can be added at the end of August.
In the absence of precipitation, hydrangea is watered every week.
Pruning hydrangea paniculata Summer Love
Summer Love can grow without pruning, but in this case, the bush will gradually lose its beautiful shape, and the flowering will not be so abundant. Therefore, every spring (before the beginning of April) it is necessary to carry out a sanitary and shaping haircut:
- remove old and damaged branches completely;
- cut off well-developed branches, leaving 2-3 buds;
- thin out the crown if necessary.
Preparing for winter
Preparation for winter is carried out during the period of active leaf fall (late September - early October). The layer of the trunk circle is mulched with needles, sawdust, peat to a height of at least 5-7 cm. You can also sprinkle 20-30 cm with earth. Young seedlings need additional cover with spunbond, burlap and other materials at hand.
Young Summer Love bushes are best covered every fall.
Reproduction
Summer Love Hydrangea is fairly easy to propagate at home. For this, classical methods are used:
- Layers - the lower branches at the end of March are bent down and buried in, and then at the beginning of October they are separated and transplanted to a new place.
- Cuttings - in spring or summer, apical shoots with 2-3 pairs of leaves are taken, treated with a growth stimulant and grown in fertile soil (it is possible in cups). A month later, they are transplanted into pots, and the next spring - into open ground.
- Dividing the bush - dig out the entire bush, divide it into 2-3 parts (each should have several powerful shoots) and plant in a permanent place.
Diseases and pests
The Summer Love variety is resistant to diseases and pests, but periodically the shrub is exposed to fungal infections:
- leaf spot;
- gray rot;
- powdery mildew.
Also, common pests often settle on it - aphids, leaf rollers, spider mites and others. To avoid this, treatment with any fungicide and insecticide should be carried out in the spring. If necessary (appearance of signs of damage), repeat the procedure at another time.
For processing Summer Love, you can use Bordeaux liquid, "Topaz", "Skor", "Fitosporin-B". These drugs effectively kill fungi. To eliminate aphids and other pests, you can use a solution of wood ash, baking soda, ammonia, and insecticides (Aktara, Iskra, Fitoverm).
As a folk remedy for treatment and prevention, spraying of the Summer Love hydrangea bush with a weak solution of potassium permanganate 1-2% is often used
Conclusion
Among flowering shrubs, Summer Love panicle hydrangea stands out for its beauty. It is a very attractive, almost exotic flower that will easily decorate both a small garden and a large flower garden. The plant takes root well even in regions with extreme climates and is not too demanding to care for. If you provide the bush with regular watering and fertilization, it will bloom for several weeks in a row.
